After playing and collecting pedals for a while, many players
decide that off-the-shelf pedalboards don’t quite offer all of the
options they’d prefer for organizing and getting the most out of
their stompboxes. Some of us want little more than a platform
with space for our effects and a power supply, while others
are at the opposite end of the spectrum and can’t live without
various jacks and specialized connections being built right into
the pedalboard.

For this diy piece, I wanted to solve the problem I’m facing:
I have a growing pedal collection, but after using some of the
pre-assembled products on the market for a while I decided they
weren’t quite cutting it. I wanted something closer to a custom
pedalboard—minus the elevated price tag. After scoping out the
range of custom options offered by various companies, I decided
to make something with all the features I wanted. It’s a bit more
involved than duct-taping everything to an IKEA shelf, but it’s
definitely not as involved as some of the space-age control
centers on the market. I was careful to keep costs as low as
possible, though. in fact, I was able to keep the price around $100.

A couple of notes about things we’re not covering here: I
won’t go into the theory of wiring up your board (effect order,
switching options, etc.)—that’s a whole other topic. Here we’re
covering the basics of getting a signal and power to and from
your board. Also, though most players need a pedalboard case
because they drag their boards all over the place, we’ll refer you
to the fine folks at blackbirdpedalboards.com, stompin-ground.
com, nycpedalboards.com and other outlets with a multitude of
sizes, options, and materials for you to choose from once you’ve
decided on the final size and shape of your board.

All right—let’s get to it!

Step 1
Lay out your pedals
on the floor in
ideal performing
position and use
a tape measure to
determine what
size of board will fit
them. I decided on
24" x 16". I wanted
my board to have
an angled surface
so I can comfortably
reach two rows of
pedals, so we'll also
make the surface
angle from 4" high
in back down to 1
1/2" high along the
front edge. This will
also let me mount
a power supply
underneath.

Since attending a Dave Matthews Band concert as a teenager, Jason has been into all things guitar. An Iowa native, Jason has degrees in Music Business from Minnesota State-Mankato and Jazz Pedagogy from the University of Northern Iowa. Since then, he has spent time doing everything from promotion at an indie music label to organizing guitar workshops all over the country. Currently, Jason lives with his wife, son, and daughter in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

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